Brotherhood: Agents of SHIELD
by Godfather
Summary: Recruited by SHIELD, the now-adult Brotherhood has become the best black-ops unit in the world. However, when targeted by a mysterious foe, the hunters find themselves hunted and their dedication to SHIELD, and each other, put to the test. Toad/S.W.
1. Chapter 1

-1_Fancy French Restaurant_

_Monday_

_1200 hours_

"You're late," Toad said, tapping his watch without even bothering to look up from the menu.

If the girl who slid into the booth opposite him shrugged, leaning back to appraise her new acquaintance. "And you're green," she replied. "But hey, who's keeping score, right?"

Toad smirked, then turned to the waiter, who had also materialized at their booth. He rattled off something in French, then turned back to his new guest. With her olive, Mediterranean features, long black hair and amber eyes, she certainly wasn't hard to look at. But that had nothing to do with why they were here. "Jasmine Soriano, I presume".

"Yeah."

"Great. I'm Toad and-"

"Toad?"

He shrugged. "Codename. Plus everyone's called me that since I was a kid. You might as well too. Anyway, as I was saying I'm a bit new at this whole recruiting thing so hope you'll have a little patience. Usually my colleague Pietro would be doin this, but with him off on a mission you're stuck with me."

"And you work for the government, right?"

Toad nodded. "Government agency called SHIELD, actually. I'd go into what it stands for but half the time even I forget. Our division is special though, a branch with only meta-humans."

"And you want me to join," Jasmine finished.

Toad nodded, not quite sure what to expect. Recruiting, as he'd told Fury a hundred times, was NOT his thing. He didn't even look like a government agent for cryin' out loud, suit or no suit. Of course what he didn't expect was the laughter. . .

"HAhaha. . .oh man, really?" Jasmine chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. "You know, when you guys first contacted me to set up this meeting, I had no idea what to expect. I mean, it was a pretty fair bet that somehow you knew I was a freakin. . .mutant or whatever. I figured maybe you just wanted me to register or something. But I'm a sophomore in college! Studying nursing! Why the hell would I want to throw all that away by outing myself and becoming some government guinea pig?"

Toad sighed, brushing a rebellious strand of brown hair out of his eyes so he could read the briefings he'd been given more closely. In the end, he pulled out a simple photograph, glossy and a bit blurry still. But the visual impact was still there. He slid it across the table.

"What is this?" Jasmine murmured. Then a gasp. "What the. . ." The photograph clearly showed her, hovering high in the sky with a flash of blue light directly above her. It was an aerial view, the light only partially obscured her features, staring up into the in panic. Jasmine scowled, crumpling up the photograph and hurling it back at Toad. "How did you get this?!"

"You're losin control of your powers," Toad said simply. "With powers like yours, it was only a while before we noticed something going on. When you opened a portal two miles up in the air, the energy registered on some very sophisticated satellites. They thought you were a foreign missile or something, probably. Started takin pics like crazy, except that once the guys with the computers and lab coats started analyzing it they found you." He sighed. "That was two months ago, and the energy readings have kept popping up every once in a while. Now since a college girl like yourself probably has better things to do with her time than go teleporting around in the stratosphere, I'm guessing that you can't help it.

"I can control my powers just fine," Jasmine growled, albeit unconvincingly. "And-and even if I can't, its none of your business! I'm not hurting anyone."

"Yet," countered Toad. "How long before you accidentally send someone else through one of your little portals. I mean, do you even understand how they work?"

"Do you?" she shot back.

Toad laughed. "I dropped outta high school Jasmine, I don't even know how my _toaster_ works. But like I said we got people with lab coats and degrees comin outta their ears. Come with us, and they _will_ give you your life back."

She eyed him warily. "What if I don't want to join?"

"Whelp, then you better hope you can get those powers in check all by yourself. Because if you end up hurtin somebody, the next time you see me, or any of my people it'll be to put you down."

Up until then, Toad had seemed casual, even a little bored by the whole meeting. But the way he said 'put you down' literally sent chills through Jasmine. She knew, without a doubt , that he meant it. And as hard as it was to take a guy with green skin, a permanent smirk, and a name like 'Toad' seriously. . .she wondered if maybe she'd been too hasty in refusing.

Toad watched her inner struggle with an odd detachment, thinking instead about the immense irony of him not only belonging to a government agency, but also trying to recruit other young mutant to the fold. Five years ago, he would have laughed aloud at the notion. Yet here he was. . .

"You don't have to give me an answer right now," he said. Just think about it, okay? You're not alone, and with your powers you could make a really big difference for a lotta people."

She arched an eyebrow. "Kinda cliché, don't you think?"

"Yeah, well its true too. Listen, you have a card in your mailbox right now. If you decide you wanna know more, the instructions on there'll tell you what to do next." He started to rise.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm tryna get back home kinda soon."

"We haven't even been served yet though. We've only been here like what, five minutes?"

"Hey," said Toad, "You want a long lecture you might as well head back to your university. I'm just here to give you our sales pitch or whatever you call it. Hey, you should stick around though, cuz I told the waiter to really go the distance on your meal. Three hundred dollars of SHIELD money at a fancy place like this doesn't happen every day, so you might want to make the most of it before you go back to cafeteria food."

Jasmine laughed again, except this time without anger behind her mirth. "You know," she said. "You don't really seem like a government agent."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Toad said. And it was true. He'd been deemed a repulsive freak since childhood, and even though in adulthood he'd finally gained a bit of muscle, height (and not to mention hygiene), his pale green skin and yellow eyes still tended to evoke the same reactions.

"Its definitely a compliment," Jasmine clarified when Toad didn't immediately elaborate. She smiled, and without even realizing it he found himself smiling back.

"We'll be awaiting your answer," was all he could think to say.

***

_Shield Metahuman Resources Division_

_Monday_

_2100 hours_

"Well, that certainly didn't take you too long," observed Wanda as she entered the spacious rec room, located right in the center of the Metahuman Resources complex. Toad and Blob had insisted on it upon their recruitment, and Nick Fury had grudgingly obliged them, going so far as outfit the area with its own theater system, video game consoles, and even more traditional fares such as pool tables and air hockey in the back. Tonight though, Toad wasn't occupied at any of them, despite being on break from his SHIELD duties.

He was in the Observatory, almost but not quite its own room. It jutted out from the game area like pier, and while the rest of the entire complex had been built entirely into the face of a mountain, the Observatory was the only part that stretched out into the open night sky, suspended an unfathomable distance above anything that could remotely be considered ground. For Wanda, who was slightly afraid of heights, the Observatory was one of the last places she would ever think to go. But seeing Toad lying in there, his head propped up on a borrowed couch cushion, her curiosity got the best of her.

Toad stretched his head back to acknowledge her presence, then once more returned his gaze to the transparent dome that comprised the Observatory's 'roof' and the starlit sky beyond it. "Hey Wanda. What didn't take too long?"

"Your little recruiting mission," she said, walking even closer. "Usually when its on Pietro, he's gone for the better part of a day. You were away for what, an hour?"

"Hour and a half, but yeah I see your point. Guess I don't have Pietro's people skills. I tried though."

"Oh, without a doubt," said Wanda. "Apparently you underestimate yourself too. Word from Lance is that she called in a few hours after your little meeting. Said she wants to learn more about us."

"Yeah, well I'm not doin that again," said Toad. "WHy should I be tryna run around convincing every mutant with a pulse to join up with SHIELD when I don't even know if I should be here myself. Lance and the others. . .even you, y'all like all this black-ops, cloak and dagger combat stuff we do. And you're _good _at it."

"So are you," Wanda pointed out.

"And you love doin it."

"Oh, its not that simple," Wanda countered, plopping herself down beside him. "We all have our own reasons for doing what we do, Todd. For me, I've seen firsthand the kind of destruction and misery that rogue meta humans can cause, myself included. And every time I go on a mission and help save lives or prevent some kind of catastrophe by taking down people who use their powers to hurt. . .it gives me a little bit of peace inside."

Toad half-grinned. "Y'know you're the only person who ever calls me 'Todd' anymore," he said.

"Way to change the subject."

Toad turned to look at her. "You wanna know why I fight the good fight?" he asked. "Honestly, its cuz it pays the bills. I ain't no hero Wanda, and even now fighting our kind at nick Fury's whim still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I mean we work for the guys who created the Sentinels for chrissakes."

"Bolivar Trask went rogue," corrected Wanda. That was never an official SHIELD initiative. And don't give me that 'it pays the bills' bullshit either- we both know you're a better person than that."

Toad's focus had shifted once again to the stars. "Am I?" he wondered aloud. But before Wanda could answer she silently shushed her, pointing up at the sky. "Showtime," he whispered.

"Wha-Oooooh" Wanda did indeed shut up, out of pure awe if nothing else. For above them in the night sky was one of the most beautiful displays of light she'd ever seen. The myriad colors washed over them, and inn an instant Wanda understood why Toad had come here. "What is it?" she whispered back.

"Years ago, back when Magneto was using his powers up in the stratosphere to sustain that floating sanctuary of his, the electromagnetic forces kinda stayed up there. I mean, there's a buncha complicated science about how they bend light and stuff, but basically for the past five years these little light shows have been goin on as a result. I saw it on the news that they predicted one for tonight, so here I am."

"Its beautiful," she told him, pure wonder in her voice.

"I figured that's why you came by here. I mean, this is hardly your favorite place to hang out. And its not as if my company's all that enchanting. . ."

Wanda wanted to tell him not to be so sure of that. Something about the lights and the way they flickered and danced, casting their luminescence onto the two of them. . .it was almost. . .romantic. And somehow, that word wasn't as difficult to associate with Todd as it had once been. She'd known him for years, and somewhere in between adolescence and adulthood he'd grown up. Not to say that he couldn't still be annoying, and a bit of a smartass. . .but that was tempered by a newfound maturity that even Lance and the rest of the team didn't have.

She sighed. Not that the two of them would ever work. These days, Todd didn't seem much interested in anything, including her. Plus she was kind of technically dating Simon Williams, the de facto head of the SHIELD's meta division. He was independently wealthy, good looking, and could juggle a tank or two with unbelievable ease, as per his own superhuman abilities. That coupled with a snug number five spot on _People's_ _Sexiest Mutants_ list should have made him the perfect partner. A veritable wonder man.

Yet he wasn't the one that she'd thought about all afternoon, or come to check on tonight. She took a brief break from her stargazing to glance back over at Todd. Smirking and scowling were usually his default expression, and yet now there was a third: contentment. She smiled at the sight, and then turned her attention back to the light show, already beginning to fade. She didn't tell him any of the thoughts going through her mind though, and was saved from having to say anything at all by the vibrating of her cell phone. She flipped it open, taking a moment to scan the short text message on the display before returning the device to her pocket.

"Lemme guess," said Toad mildly, "Simon?"

"Yeah," for whatever reason she felt sheepish at the admission. "He wants to see me so. . ."

"Gotcha." Toad looked up at her as she stood, flashing her one of his rare genuine smiles. "Hey, thanks for the company Wanda."

"Anytime Frog-boy," she said endearingly. "Seeya tomorrow."

Toad watched her leave and thought, not for the first time, that Simon was a lucky guy indeed.

***

For an initiative still in its nascent stages, SHIELD's Metahuman Resources Division was surprisingly large. Comprised of over one hundred agents, with at least eighty possessing active meta human abilities, it was perhaps the single largest assembly of metas in existence. For organizational and practical purposes, the metas themselves were grouped into small squads, based on how well their individual powers complemented each other. The Division was, above all, a black-ops task force. It sent these small, elite units into situations around the globe that required specific meta human assistance.

The former Brotherhood of Mutants had joined as a team, and insisted that they remain on a team as another condition of employment. They had fought side by side for years, was the argument, even if it wasn't always on the side of the 'good guys'. They knew each other's strengths and weaknesses like no one else could, and their diversity of skills and powers, combined with SHIELD's own extensive paramilitary training, had made them one of the most dangerous fighting forces on the planet. In less than a year, they had risen to the top of the Division, consistently outperforming every other squad and garnering results in the field that even Nick Fury himself couldn't have dreamed of. . .

"And you want to screw that up?!" Wanda demanded in outrage, glaring at her boyfriend as he watched her absorb the news he had just given her.

"Babe," said Simon soothingly, "I wanted to break the news to you first. . .but yes. We need to expand your roster. Who better than this new teleporter?"

"She's a college student! She's never even seen combat that wasn't on the other side of a TV screen!"

"Well we'll train her then. Honestly Wanda, I don't know why you're so upset about this. I mean it was your guys that recruited her."

"At high command's insistence," countered Wanda. "But we didn't think she'd be joining our squad. All that we've achieved is precisely because of the small, close-knit nature of-"

"Oh please," Simon cut her off with a wave of her hand. "I've heard this speech before. And yeah, you guys are an impressive bunch. . .but even Pietro can't get you out of a tight spot as fast as a 'porter. And who else? Avalanche? Pyro? Or _Toad?" _He laughed harshly at this. "Wanda, not only will having this girl eliminate a lot of our transportation costs, but it'll also make things a lot safer for you in the field. And your teammates, of course."

"Me, _and_ my teammates, are just fine as it is," Wanda said through clenched teeth. "Thanks for the heads up, Simon."

"Wait," he said, scuttling in between her and the door. "No need to leave so soon right? We haven't been able to spend a night together in months Wanda, I was thinking that maybe tonight we could-"

Wanda didn't even bother responding as she slammed the door shut behind her.

****

_Westchester Community College_

_Tuesday_

_1300 hours_

The next afternoon found Wanda and Toad flying down the road at highly illegal speeds to pick up Jasmine Soriano. Once again, the job would have usually gone to Pietro, but the silver-haired speed freak was just as pissed off as the rest of the team once hearing the news that she would be forced into their unit.

In the end, it was decided that Toad should go because of the familiarity he'd already established with the girl, and Wanda because she might feel a little more at ease in the presence of another woman.

"Maniac," muttered Wanda as Toad made a screeching U-turn after accidentally passing the street he wanted.

"Sorry, can't hear ya over that heavy metal crap you insisted on blaring through the speakers."

"Toad, you wouldn't know good music if it bit you in the ass."

"Stop thinking about my ass Wanda, makes me uncomfortable." He glanced over, trademark smirk firmly in place. "That's gotta be irony right, the Scarlet Witch literally turning scarlet?"

Wanda blushed even harder and started to shoot a comeback, but before she could the car skidded to a bone-jarring halt. "We're here!" Toad announced cheerfully. He deftly clambered out of the driver's seat, then made a short hop that landed him on the roof of the car. "This is the student union, right? And there goes our girl. . " He started to wave, but then something happened that froze him in his tracks.

Twenty yards away, just as Jasmine was exiting the main doors of her student union, her entire body suddenly went rigid in mid-stride. Her eyes widened as her hands came up to feel around her neck, and then she collapsed.

"What the-" Wanda started to say as she climbed out. For right before them, two dark-haired men in black jumpsuits, overcoats, and boots rushed out of the bushes that enclosed the main entrance on either side. The first rushed to catch the unconscious Jasmine, hoisting her over his shoulder like a rag doll and leaping back through the bushed toward the adjacent street.

The second man was clearly there to stop the two mutants from giving chase. He walked purposefully toward Toad and Wanda hands emerging from his overcoat with what Toad recognized to be handheld grenade launchers. Without even hesitating a second, the man launched both weapons.

"Wanda!" shouted Toad as he saw the weapons fire. He knew even as he shouted that Wanda would not have time to react. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that they were being attacked and their recruit kidnapped- right in the middle of a college campus.

So Toad sprang to life. Scooping Wanda up into his arms he leapt as far a he could away from the car, a split second before it exploded. He could feel the intense heat on his back, followed by the intense concussive force which propelled them all the way across the street, dumping the two in an unceremonious tangle of arms and limbs.

The Scarlet Witch turned back in the direction of their mysterious attacker with an otherworldly energy blazing in her eyes. He had dropped the grenade launchers and was now running past the throng of screaming college students. In her teen years, that would have been enough to elude the Scarlet Witch, but her control of her powers had improved immensely since then. Once she was able to focus on the man. . .

The hex beam hit him, and diverted all of his forward momentum sideways. . .right into a tree. To his credit he made it back to his feet, but Wanda's next hex bolt dropped him like a dead weight. He wouldn't be getting back up for a while. . .

For his part, Todd was already racing toward the black minivan parked on the union's side street. The same minivan that the second black-clad man was trying to shove Jasmine inside. With a desperate leap, he catapulted himself onto the van's roof a moment before it sped off in a squeal of tires.

A third man, who had evidently been waiting outside the van, wriggled halfway out of one of the side windows, an assault rifle in his grasp as he attempted to shoot the unwelcome guest. But one flick of his prehensile tongue was all Toad needed to pluck the gun out of the man's hands, followed, by a swiftly-hardening glob of goo in the face. The man desperately clawed at the noxious, suffocating substance and Toad took the opportunity to swing around on the opposite and crash through the side window.

Just in time to see Jasmine disappear in a flash of blue light.

"Todd!" came Wanda's voice from the wrist communicator that all SHIELD agents wore. "The girl's back here, I think she 'ported."

"Police?"

"Already on-site. They're freakin out over here, we need to extract this girl as quickly as possible."

"On my way," Toad assured her, giving the van's occupants one last glare before leaping off of the vehicle. He was already a good two miles away from Wanda's position, but he was also a man who could move _fast_ if he wanted to. With a speed borne of urgency, he leapt across the distance in a manner that put his namesake to shame, bouncing off of trees and telephone poles like a rubber ball.

He arrived to a scene of chaos. Police cruisers, helicopters, news vans. . .the student union of a small community college had been transformed into a media frenzy. And Wanda was at the epicenter of it, waving her SHIELD identification in two police officers' faces while shouting back and forth at them.

Toad wove his way through the crowd, already on his wrist communicator calling for backup. By the time he actually reached Wanda she looked about ready to permanently rearrange the troublesome officers' molecules (something she could probably do, if she put her mind to it).

". . .slack-jawed, donut-munching halfwits have three seconds to-" Wanda was in the middle of threatening when Toad stepped into the fray.

"Whoa" he said, eyeing the policemen. "What's the problem."

"Who the hell are you?" one of the policemen, a short man with a mustache and an unhealthily red face asked rudely.

"SHIELD Metahuman Resources," Toad informed him, simultaneously flashing his own credentials.

"Yeah, well I don't care who you are, you can't just waltz in here and expect us to twiddle our thumbs while you make off with an unconscious kidnapping victim and an unidentified suspect. The girl needs at least a visit to a hospital to check for trauma, and the suspect we have in custody's been puking non-stop for the past ten minutes. Plus we have the smoldering wreckage of a car right in the middle of the damn campus, with no reliable information on how it got that way."

"Two hex bolts?" Toad whispered from the side of mouth to Wanda. "Bit overkill don't you think?"

"He's lucky he didn't get worse," she muttered back. "Bastard tried to kill us." With a look at the officers that said she would definitely be back, she hustled Toad away from the crowd, frying any cameras that seem to focus too long on them with a flick of her fingers. "I don't know what to do," she told him once they'd successfully escaped the throng of people.

"Yeah, me either," Toad admitted. "Part of me wants to just grab Jasmine and our little grenade-thrower by force and just hightail it outta here, but we're kinda stranded ourselves."

"Plus our badges don't seem to pull much weight around here," added Wanda ruefully. "What about the guys you chased?"

Toad shrugged. "I didn't really have any way to detain'em so I just stuck my cell phone to the roof of their and booked. Our guys with the GPS should be trackin' 'em as we speak. Other than that. . ."

"Yeah," Wanda finished, "we just wait. . ."

Toad nodded, the breeze forcing him to swipe a few unruly strands of hair out of his field of vision. He thought offhandedly that it was really time for another haircut. . .

Already in the distance, he could hear the sound of SHIELD choppers slicing through the sky, no doubt full of all sorts of personnel who would create official cordons and sweet talk police and the media. He sighed. And the week had started out so well. . .

**************************************************

**Author's Notes**: First, if you made it this far (all the way through my first chapter) then thanks for reading and do feel free to drop a review on your way out. I haven't written an X-men Evo fic in literally years, but I just finished watching the entire series online, and got that writer's itch that only a few hours of furious story writing can cure. The last episode, which I had never seen until now, really stuck with me because of all of the rich storytelling opportunities that Xavier's vision of the future offers. His vision of the Brotherhood members as SHIELD agents really grew on me, and that coupled with my personal belief that Toad gets a decidedly awful (and unfair) treatment in most episodes is pretty much what led me to come up with this. Anywho, the next chapter I'm working on will definitely have more Brotherhood members, and maybe an X-men cameo or two.

**PS**: Also, in case you were wondering the timestamps are in military time. Why? Simply because it seems so badass when they do it on TV! *shrug*

**PPS**: For the really big nerds out there, Simon Williams is the civilian name of the Marvel Comics character Wonder Man. In the comics, he's one of Scarlet Witch's love interests (trust me, the details of that relationship will give you a headache trying to figure out), and so I decided to toss him in as a foil to Toad.

Til then, and hope you liked!


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: First wanted to say thanks to everyone who reviewed my first chapter, it was pretty encouraging to get such nice feedback, especially in a fic like this. Hope you guys like the second installment, and for future reference updates should be coming at sooner intervals. _

_-Godfather_

_************************************************************************_

_Meadowlark Apartments_

_Tuesday_

_1800 hours_

"Wonder Man," gasped the gorgeous blonde, collapsing into a contented rest against Simon Williams' chest. "I think that nickname fits you _perfectly_."

Simon gave the best imitation of a shrug that someone lying on his back in bed could do. Unlike his vivacious young lover, he wasn't the least bit tired from the afternoon's. . . 'carnal' activities. Superhuman endurance did come in handy for more than fighting, after all. "You're gonna make me blush," he joked. "One magazine article and I still have people calling me that."

"Well," she purred, lazily tracing a finger over well-muscled shoulder. "Your stamina is nothing short of wondrous."

"Oh?" Simon gave her a surprise, lingering kiss. "Does someone want another round?"

An hour later, after _several_ more rounds, Simon finally sat up. Ravina Drake, magazine reporter celebre in Hollywood circles was reluctantly getting dressed, a rather spectacular sight to be sure. He'd met her a month ago, during one of SHIELD's media blitzes in the wake of a thwarted terrorist attack. She was gorgeous and self-assured, with a classy appeal that most of his numerous groupies lacked. As it was, she had just the right combination of attractive features to cause him to stray from Wanda.

Not that he didn't love his girlfriend- he did. Wanda was an amazing woman. . .but her dedication to those losers in her 'elite' unit got a bit tiresome after awhile. And she just didn't appreciate him, really. When nine out of ten women would kill to be in her place, you'd think she could at least be a little more. . .deferential. But she treated him like he was just some guy who-

"Not feeling guilty are you?" Ravina asked as she finished the last knot on her shoelace.

Simon snorted in response. "Nah, it's not like I'm running off with another woman or anything. Just having a little fun."

"A little fun?"

"Okay," he conceded, "a lot of fun."

"Well, just as long _she_ doesn't find out," said Ravina. "I've seen what those hex bolts of hers can do."

"Don't worry babe." Simon flashed one of his trademark movie-poster smiles. "This is just between you and me." He got up to kiss her, which threatened to turn into another half hour of wasted time except that she finally put a stop to it.

"You're naughty," Ravina giggled, a restraining finger on his lips. "But you need to get changed mister, even Wonder Man isn't allowed to laze around my apartment all day."

************************************************************************

_Shield Metahuman Resources Division Headquarters_

_Tuesday_

_1800 hours_

Toad and Wanda were a bit surprised to find the rest of the Brotherhood Unit waiting for them in the conference room back at base. Indeed, outside of missions it was rare to ever find Pietro, Lance, and Pyro in the same place.

"Hey you two," greeted Lance, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "Sounds like it was a pretty exciting day for you guys."

Toad rolled his eyes. "More paperwork than anything," he muttered. "Remind me to never get tangled up with civilians again."

"Oh, stop being such a baby," Wanda said dismissively. "It was necessary, and besides at least we were able to get the girl back."

"Jasmine?" came the question from Pietro. He was the only one actually sitting at the conference table, and he had a look of concern on his face. "Jasmine Soriano right? We just got some interesting news about her."

"You mean how she's more than likely joining our team?"

"Exactly." Pietro turned to look directly at Wanda. "No offense, but exactly what the hell is your boyfriend thinking?"

"Hey," her hands came up defensively. "Trust me, I already had this talk with Simon. I had no idea this was coming either- but he says the decision's been made."

"Maybe you could change his mind then," came Pyro's distinctive Australian-accented voice. "Be a little creative, if you get my drift mate."

Wanda glared at him. "No thanks, but _you're_ more than welcome to try, 'mate'."

Toad gave Pyro the obligatory two seconds to start a comeback. Unfortunately, the Aussie was nowhere near sharp enough to formulate one by then, so he just went ahead and spoke anyway. "People, let's not start a riot just yet. We haven't even met this girl-"

"You have," Lance pointed out.

"Well yeah. But there's only so much you can learn over lunch at an overpriced French restaurant. Now I know we work best jut the way we are, and I'm sure once they try and stick her into our unit that'll become apparent. So let's just wait for that to happen, and then we'll actually have some evidence when we bring it up to SHIELD command. Or, y'know, we could just sit here indefinitely, bitching and moaning. . ."

"Harsh," said Pietro. "But true. No need getting worked up quite yet I suppose."

Then they all turned to Lance. Like it or not, he was the unofficial leader of the unit, and ultimately what he said would be accepted. He uncrossed powerful arms and jammed his hands into his pockets, letting out a resigned sigh. "This needs to _not_ become a habit," he finally said. We were promised autonomy when SHIELD first recruited us, and that's how we've been able to achieve the success we have. And I think we've done just fine without a teleporter, especially one who can't control her damn powers. That said, Toad's right. I'll address it through the proper channels when the time comes, but for now it shouldn't be our main concern."

As if on cue, the automated doors at the entrance whirred open, and a prim, older woman wearing the signature SHIELD full-body uniform stepped in. The bars above her crest identified her as a corporal, an information specialist from the East Wing. She paused to take a look around at the conference room's occupants before beginning.

"My name is Corporal London," she said by way of introduction. "Intelligence has just finished compiling a report on the assailants that two of you faced earlier today. It seems that this case has connections to a much bigger one that has been a SHIELD priority for quite some time."

If Lance was irked at the sudden intrusion, he didn't show it. Even the fearless leader was very curious, especially since no explanation had been forthcoming thus far. "Continue," he said.

"Well." Corporal London cleared her throat, pulling a small holographic transmitter from her belt and thumbing it on. With a slight humming sound, a bright display shimmered into existence above the device. Profiles came into focus. Profiles of the men that had tried to kill Toad and Wanda.

"Who are they?" Wanda asked, ice in her voice.

"A bit of a dead end, unfortunately," replied London. "Ethnically, they're all over the place. Mostly Russian, but there's Chinese, French, even a rather nasty Algerian fellow. It's the new big business in crime circles, gang for hire."

"Gangs for hire?" Pyro repeated dubiously. "All the way from Europe?"

"It's a multi-million dollar business," London clipped back. "They farm mercenaries over there, ex-Russian special forces and the like. They don't come cheap, but they tend to be effective and, most importantly, are practically untraceable."

"So we have no idea who sent those assholes?" grumbled Toad. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Ah, but there is a bit of a catch. You see, some bank accounts we've been monitoring, the 'big case' I referred to earlier, happened to have an unusual bout of activity recently. Consistent with a large scale payoff to mercenary rings. Layered transfers, dummy accounts, piggybacking. . .the whole works." She stopped to see if anyone had understood a word of what she'd just said. They hadn't.

"Whose bank account?" Wanda finally asked with impatience tingeing her voice.

"Well, not who," she confessed. With another click, the holographic image changed, this time to a digital globe. The hologram rotated then zoomed in Europe. Northern Europe. . .the image continued to magnify, panning over the vast Carpathian Mountains to reveal a small, crescent shaped country nestled within the range. "I'm afraid 'what' would be the better question. This is Latveria, my friends. Modest size and population, but from what we can tell they have some of the most sophisticated technology on the planet. Also, one of the last remaining total dictatorships on the planet. Absolute power is invested in one man, Victor Von Doom-"

Toad snickered at this. "You serious?"

The corporal shrugged. "Who knows if that's his real name or not. Latveria also happens to have one of the greatest shrouds of secrecy, it puts the old Soviet Union to shame, really. What we do know is that this man ascended to power about ten years ago, and basically transformed what had been an impoverished agrarian settlement into a miniature empire. We've been watching him for the last three years, and suspect he has his fingers in all sorts of international dirt. Terrorism, extortion, arms dealing-"

"Kidnapping mutants," interjected Pietro.

Another shrug. "We're sure those thugs were hired by Latveria. As for motive, it's anyone's guess. We've gone over Jasmine Soriano's background with a fine-toothed comb, everything looks right, except for when her powers started to manifest. The only logical conclusion is that that's why she was kidnapped, although Doom having access to that kind of intel in the first place is a pretty scary thought."

"He'd have to have informants in SHIELD," Wanda mused. "My God. . ."

"Precisely. Nick Fury has just deemed the Latverian threat an unacceptable risk. Needless to say, the stunt with the mercenaries on American soil is what did it. You five will be in charge of the mission, a bit of covert regime change, to be precise. Doom is the target, and as far as they go he'll be your toughest to date." London looked around at all of them, taking a deep breath from the long briefing she had just delivered. "This op will be one for the history books, ladies and gentlemen."

With series of pops, Pyro cracked his knuckles, a mischievous smile spreading across his face. "Bloody hell then, sounds like my kind of thing."

************************************************************************

Hank Roscoe was a completely ordinary man in most every way possible. He was the average American male personified, neither thin nor fat, short nor tall. His hair was a dull brown, conservatively cut, but without any flair or style. He could've been a banker, or an accountant, or a professor.

But he was none of those. The one thing that set him apart from ninety-nine percent of the planet was a mutant gift unlike any other. It had no physical manifestation, indeed only a neurologist with highly expensive equipment would be able to detect the fact that his brain worked several levels above the average human's He could calculate trajectories, trigonometric equations, Newtonian physics. . .all in his head and faster than a supercomputer. That level of skill, he could have done almost anything.

His specialty however was aviation. And his mutation made him a damn good pilot- maybe even the best in the world. That was why he had gotten the personal invitation from Nick Fury to join SHIELD. And that was why he had been assigned to SHIELD's most elite meta human unit.

The bullet that ended his life came at the most mundane of times. He was outside of a local grocery store, walking to his worn pickup truck with one of those reusable 'green' grocery bags the store was promoting. It was heavy, full of canned fruits and so he swung it back and forth as he walked, relieving the pressure from his fingers. At that moment, he could have been any one of the millions of regular Americans on a grocery run before dinner, SHIELD or no SHIELD.

But back to the bullet. As projectiles went, it was a beautiful specimen. A 7.62x51mm NATO round, it traveled at more than twice the speed of sound. Hank Roscoe was dead before the sound of the discharge even reached his ears, which was almost a shame considering that he was one of few people who could truly appreciate an object moving fast enough to create its own sonic boom.

The bullet had been fired from a Heckler & Koch PSG1 sniper rifle, custom fitted with a Russian Krenchev tactical scope. It was an elegant, yet ruthless killing machine, and as its owner watched Hank Roscoe's corpse collapse to the ground over a kilometer away, she reflected that it had been thirty thousand dollars well-spent. It had been a textbook-perfect shot, destroying the target's brain stem and killing him instantly. Most military snipers in the world would have studied it for years, if they'd seen it. They'd have taught classes on it.

The woman who called herself Ravina Drake finally let out the breath she'd been holding for that single shot. She rose from her crouching position and loosened up her neck before setting about the business of disassembling the rifle. Within a minute, it had been reduced to its component parts and sealed inside a carrying case.

Deftly, she scampered off the roof of the semi trailer she'd been perched on, and swung into the cab through the driver's seat's open window. Casually, not at all like a woman who had just performed the assassin's equivalent of an Olympic gold medal. Thirty seconds later,, she was on the road, and in another five minutes she was on the highway headed east. The police cars that were by now converging on the site would never even cross paths with her nondescript vehicle. Neither would the SHIELD helicopters and vans.

The woman who called herself Ravina Drake couldn't help but smile to herself as she looked in the rearview mirror. After all, she might have called herself Ravina Drake, but she'd called herself many other names in the past. And she would go by many more in the future to come. For the woman with crimson red hair, indigo blue skin, and luminescent eyes that seemed to pulsate with fierce energy, today had been a very productive day.

_So far, so good. . ._

********************************************************************

_A traitor in SHIELD. . ._somehow, Wanda couldn't erase this thought from her mind, even hours after the conversation with Corporal London. It was making her seriously angry, the thought that someone in SHIELD was playing with all of their lives. Her unit was good, the best even. They followed orders without questions and executed them flawlessly. They had saved lives and averted disasters time and again as a result. But they had never had to question if someone up in the vast network of SHIELD command would get them killed.

Her evening workout had been especially brutal- the punching bag in particular would need to be replaced after the beating she'd given it. At least the session had helped dissipate some of her ire. Now, showered and dressed in sweats in a sports bra, she headed for the kitchen to rummage for dinner.

The first thing she noticed on her way down the stairs was music. Booming, bass-heavy hip-hop music that literally reverberated through the entire kitchen.

"Todd!" she yelled, unable to keep from smiling as she entered. Sure enough there he was spatula in hand and tending to something frying on the stove. He turned around and Wanda had to try to keep from doing a double take.

He looked _good_. He was dressed in a black button down with eye-catching designs emblazoned in white around the front and black. His jeans were stylishly faded and his shiny black shoes reflected nicely from the kitchen's overhead lights. His longish hair had been pulled back into a simple ponytail, and he'd even trimmed his usual stubble. All that remained were a thin mustache and goatee, and it lent him a rakish charm that rendered Wanda all but speechless.

Toad, funnily enough looked just as surprised to see her. He reached over to the iHome docking station on the counter and lowered the volume. "Huh," he said. "Thought you were goin' with Pietro and the rest of the guys."

"Ah." Comprehension dawned. Last week, Pyro had suggested they all go to a new dance club that had opened within driving distance. He'd gotten everyone to agree to go, but Wanda had opted out after recent events. Nearly getting killed and learning of the possible traitor had not done much for her partying mood.

Toad nodded as she told him this. "Makes sense," he said. "Still, you probably shoulda just gone. Might've gotten your mind off all that stuff."

"Doubtful. Besides, why aren't you out at the club with them if it's all so fun. You sure dressed for it."

Toad glanced down at his outfit, giving it the same look that most people gave roadkill. "Yeah, you can blame Pyro for that fiasco. 'Mate, weah headed to a nightclub- you cont just _prance_ in theyah looking like a bloody. . ._bogan _fresh out the bottle shop!'" he pantomimed in a distinct imitation of Pyro's Australian twang.

Wanda laughed at that. "Oh, you're overdoing it just a bit," she chided. "And what's a 'bloody bogan'?"

Toad shrugged. "Hell if I know. Anyway, he's the one got me lookin' like this so-"

"It looks nice," interrupted Wanda, reaching out to tweak his collar. "You look good."

Toad arched an eyebrow.

"Really," she said. "Maybe you're the one who should've gone. The ladies would be falling all over you I bet."

Her teammate laughed at this. "Now who's overdoing it? Nah, I decided to stick around here, take advantage of the opportunity to have the kitchen all to myself."

"I didn't know you cooked."

"Oh," I don't" said Toad, quickly mixing the skillet's stir-fry contents once more. "Not that well anyway. Every once in a while though, I'll see something on TV that I really wanna try, so I do." From the smell of things, he was severely underestimating his own abilities. The aroma was downright tantalizing.

Wanda nodded, eyeing the sizzling food appreciatively. "What was that I heard you blasting when I came down?"

Rather than answer, Toad reached over and turned the iHome's volume back up. Instantly, the bass was back, causing Wanda to take an involuntary step back. "A little taste of the club," Toad announced, clearly chuckling at her reaction.

"Back that thing up?" was all Wanda could think to say. "This sounds absolutely ridiculous."

Toad turned around from the oven, a look of mock admonishment on his face. "Says the _death metal_ aficionado," he replied, as if that completely invalidated her opinion. "Besides, I'll have you know that this particular song is a party classic."

Wanda rolled her eyes. She was about to shoot back an answer to that, but then suddenly the song changed.

_DJ won't you play this girl a love song_

_She really needs to hear this freakin love song__. . ._

_She's lookin at me kinda hard I can tell that things ain't right on the home front. . ._

This one sounded different. Likeable even. Wanda had never been much of a fan of any music outside of her particular brand of rock. But the slow, powerful cadence of the music, combined with the singer's smooth voice was hard to dislike.

She looked up at Toad, who was observing her reaction with some amusement. "Not bad, is it?" he asked.

"I guess. . .what's it called?"

"'Play this girl a love song," Toad answered. "By Jamie Foxx."

"Never heard of him," Wanda mused, even as she felt herself beginning to move with the music.

"Not bad for a club song though, is it?"

"Huh?"

Toad stepped even closer. By then, both of their heads were nodding to the music. He smelled nice, Wanda couldn't help but notice. Some kind of spicy cologne that made her want to curl up into him. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice was yelling at her that she was with Simon and didn't need to be having those kinds of thoughts about anyone else, no matter how good he looked. Or smelled.

"I said, 'not bad for a club song, is it?'" he told her again, leaning down to speak closer to her ear.

"Well how do you dance to it then?" Wanda asked, a hint of a dare in her voice. That same voice in the back of her head was practically howling now. But screw it, it was an innocent question and even if he did what she kind of hoped he would, it was just a-

"Dance?" Toad repeated. "Well, you just. . ." He placed one hand on her waist, and then the other.

"And then. . ." said Wanda softly, bringing her arms up slowly behind his head.

"Yeah, and then you just kinda. . .sway," finished Toad. "And that's all there is to it." His voice had dropped so low Wanda could barely hear him. Tentatively, she leaned her head forward, finally allowing it to rest on his chest. A thought struck her and she chuckled against him.

"What?" said Toad.

"When did you get so tall?"

"Really? And all this time thought it was you who shrunk." He could feel her smile in response, and for a while they simply held each other and danced on the linoleum floor.

"So, this is how they dance in nightclubs?" said Wanda finally, changing the subject as they slowly spun around.

"Well, not quite," Toad admitted. "This is how we did it at prom though, back in high school."

Wanda laughed again at this. "That's right, you did shell out ninety bucks to go to that thing."

"Hey, it was pretty fun, and my date was a helluva good dancer."

"Oh?" Wanda thought about this for a moment. "Better than me?"

"Well, considering that slow dancing is one of the simplest activities known to man-"

She drew back just enough to look up at Toad, a suspicious look in her eyes. "Doesn't sound like you're about to give the correct answer, Mr. Tolanski," she warned playfully.

"Well," he smirked. "You _are_ just a beginner. . ."

He barely had enough time to register the gleam of mischief in her eye before she made her move, swiftly swinging him off balance only to catch him on the way down, their hold on each other the only thing keeping him from dropping straight to the floor. It was almost a comical position, like the finale to a tango performance, except that the woman was the one holding the man

Toad arched an eyebrow. "Whoa," he breathed.

"Oh, I never said I was a beginner." Wanda's muscles were straining, holding her teammate up like this. But the expression on his face was worth it. And Lord, he smelled so good. . .only a few more inched they'd be practically-"

_REEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOREEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOO_

Startled, she dropped Toad, who landed unceremoniously on the ground with a loud thump. Instantly, she saw what had set off the fire alarm. Toad's unattended stovetop was now on fire, the flames licking up toward the cabinets.

She wasted no time, but fire was a difficult target. Her powers exploited the chaos potential of matter and energy, and fire itself was a manifestation of chaos- she'd have to be careful not to turn it into a blazing inferno.

The sound of an otherworldly discharge sizzled in the air- her first hex bolt. It hit the base of the flames with a rose-colored burst, and dispersed the ambient oxygen. With a whimper, the flames died out. One more hex bolt silenced the fire alarm, leaving nothing but heavy smoke and the smooth sound of R&B music in the air.

Beside her, a sheepish Toad rose to his feet. "Well, there goes my home-cooked meal," he sighed.

"Good thing I was here though," Wanda said.

"Can't argue with that, although. . .you do know there's a fire extinguisher right above the dishwasher, right?"

Wanda followed his gaze, bursting into laughter when she saw the bright red container that was indeed no more than three feet. "My way was cooler though," she said defensively.

"Uh huh," Toad winked at her. "C'mon, let's get this cleaned up before the guys get back."

Later, after Wanda had bid him good night and the others had returned from the club, Toad found himself thinking about the evening. He'd never seen Wanda look at him like she had then, and part of him wondered if maybe there wasn't something to Pyro's makeover technique.

Not that it mattered. Toad wasn't a huge believer in karma, but it seemed that even fate felt the need to intervene whenever he and Wanda got too close. Not that she would've kissed him, he quickly told himself. But honestly! She was taken. Off-limits. . .and he had the feeling that if he kept wishing otherwise, he'd only get hurt in the end.

With that thought, he finally allowed himself to go to sleep. Tomorrow was a big day after all. The Brotherhood had a painful lesson to teach this guy 'Doom'. And they were the best at what they did. . .


End file.
